In Search of Alice: Return of the Red Queen
by thunderfromheaven
Summary: Alice returns to Wonderland, for reasons unknown to her, but Tarrant isn't the only one excited to see her. Iracebeth is back from the Outlands, and is on the warpath to find Alice & destroy her once and for all. *Based on Tim Burton version. R&R please!*
1. Intro

Introduction/Prologue

Poor Alice that's what they always said to me when I was here. Poor Alice has lost her way. Poor Alice can t get back home. Poor little Alice.

And now I'm going to show them. Poor little Alice is all gone. Little Alice has put on her big girl panties and is going for a ride. When I fell down the rabbit hole again I didn't remember anything, I couldn't remember. After being told all my life it was just a dream I had to convince myself that it wasn't real. It wasn't anything more than a figment of my imagination. To be here was to be dreaming, and that was all. Wonderland couldn't be real. It just couldn't. And yet here I was again. If only it hadn't been raining last night when I went for my walk. Maybe I was sick, and really was dreaming. The doctors said people can get sick in the rain, and become delusional from being sick. Was I mad? Finally off my rocker? Over the hill? The answers could only be found one way. I must explore Wonderland for myself.

My dripping wet clothes hung heavily on me as I began to explore this enchanting place known to me as Wonderland. As I began wandering, I started thinking. I would surely get lost, as I had no guide and didn't know my way around. Then again, what was lost anyway? How does one know when they are lost? Is there really such a thing as being lost? How does one know that they re just not in the place they want to be at the moment and they need to wander a little more to find where they want to be? No, I decided, lost was just a state of mind. Not real at all.

'Just like Wonderland isn't real right Alice?' whispered a little voice in my head.

'No, no that's quite different,' I thought.

'Is it now? We shall see miss Alice.' said the little voice.

'Yes.' I replied. 'Yes, we shall see.'

A shiver ran down my spine as a cool breeze tickled the back of my neck, reminding me of just how soaked my dress was, and the rest of me for that matter. My normally long blonde curls, now dripping wet, hung loosely around my shoulders, and beads of water shimmered on my collarbone and neck. I wondered if there was a house or something somewhere so I could get warm and maybe get a little sleep, as I was incredibly tired. I started stumbling a bit, and was shocked when I came upon a rather large table that seemed to be littered with various tea cups, pots and saucers. Then again, when one is standing 4 inches high, everything over a foot seems to be very tall.

'A tea party? At this time of day'? I thought spacely. 'How curious..' I blinked as my vision started to get foggy.

'Wonder how long I've been wandering..' I thought.

"Alice!" cried a voice. Annoyed at the little voice in my head for bugging me, I looked up in time to see a very large man stooping over me.

"Oh my..." was all I had time to say before I collapsed.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The gray landscape surrounding her was something to be unexpected from this place she called home. Something a little girl once called Wonderland. The typical colorfulness and beauty of the land was non-existent in the Outlands. It was all barren, so desolate in fact that one could spot the small woman sitting on a rock from miles away. Her hair, a fiery red color, was piled rather awkwardly atop her very large head. Her chiseled features were made very pronounced by her incredibly pale skin. She had small dark beady eyes, and a mouth to match with a red heart drawn in the center.

"Your majesty," a snide voice remarked from beside her. She rolled her eyes and turned to face the source. The red patch over his eye socket was the only source of color on his badly scarred face. His malicious dark eyes glared up at her, his mouth curled into a cruel sneer, seemingly mocking her.

"What is it, Stayne?" she asked impatiently, glaring back at him as though he were nothing but a lump of lard. His sneer vanished and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"It seems, your majesty, that we have company," he told her through gritted teeth, motioning behind her.

The red queen jumped up and whirled around, Stayne following suit. He would have nearly been towering over her if it hadn't been for her hair making her height come up to his shoulder. She squinted at the small figure coming toward her as the sun glared at her through the overcast, making it difficult for her to see clearly. She grimaced at Stayne, who sneered at her.

"Who is it?" She hissed.

"You expect me to know?" he growled at her. She took a step back, eyes wide in shock of his defiance. She opened her mouth to say something, but the look on his face told her it wasn't a wise choice. He turned back to looking at the figure approaching. She hesitated, still looking up at him, but turned back too. Whoever it was, they were closer now, and she could see them clearer. It was a hooded someone, their face shadowed. It made the red queen nervous, not knowing who was approaching her. It meant a lack of control, and that wasn't acceptable. The hooded figure was standing in front of them now. The silence following was enough to kill. She looked up at Stayne. He was standing with his mouth partially open, a confused, stunned, and overall stupid look on his face. She scowled and elbowed him in the gut. He grunted, and scowled back at her. She glared at him expectantly. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Presenting her majesty, the red queen." He said anemically, motioning toward her. She rolled her eyes, but curtsied anyway at their guest. The hooded figure laughed.

"You think I know not who you are?" a deep voice leaked out of the darkness of the hood shadowing his face. "Why do you think I came?"

The queen stepped back, not anticipating this reaction. Her mouth hung open a little in shock and confusion. Stayne looked down at her and chuckled. She narrowed her eyes at him and he fell silent. Looking back at her unknown guest, she shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat.

"What can I do for you sir?" she asked cautiously.

"Oh, being polite are we? That s a change," he said smugly. Seeing the menacing look on her face, he quickly added, "But, if you really want to know. I have an offer for you. Should you choose to accept, Underland will be yours again, your sister left out here, powerless."

He motioned around the dull landscaping, and Stayne's face lit up. He d been dreaming for something like this to happen. And now the opportunity had come. He could take Underland once and for all. He focused his attention back on the queen's reaction. She looked at the stranger questioningly.

"How do you propose this?" She asked slowly.

He smiled darkly under his hood, forgetting they couldn't see him.

"What would you say," he started. "If I told you Alice is back?"


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Alice!" a voice sounded in my head. "Alice, you must wake up."

I groaned, rolling over and putting the pillow over my head so as to tune out everything around me. Someone shook me lightly.

"Alice, please. He's very anxious you know," the voice spoke again. I frowned slightly. Who was anxious? Reluctantly, I tossed the pillow behind me, rolled over again, and opened my eyes. A pair of pink eyes met mine at the edge of the bed. Startled, I screamed and flew backward, hitting the wall and falling between the bed and the wall, my legs sprawled on the bed uncomfortably. Fits of laughter ensued from the characters surrounding the bed. The smallest was what appeared to be a dormouse attempting to climb my pillow, giggling all the while. The next, a crazed-looking brownish rabbit was examining me from the foot of the bed and joining in on the laughter. And finally, a white rabbit was peeking over the edge of the bed, his pink eyes looking surprised. The same pink eyes that had scared me. I scowled and tried to pull myself up, failing miserably. After several tries I gave up and sat there limply in an awkward position.

"Think it's funny do you?" I demanded. "You just wait." I shook my fist at them, causing me to fall down further, which they seemed to find funnier still. Roaring with laughter, they pointed at me and mimicked my actions.

"Don t suppose any of you would mind helping me up?" I asked impatiently. My curls fell in my face and I scowled more.

"If you're not careful, your face will freeze that way miss Alice," said the little dormouse, laughing harder than ever.

Suddenly the door swung open and the room fell silent. A tall silhouette stood in the doorway, the light from the hall shone behind him, hiding his features in shadows.

"What's going on up here?" he asked quietly, a slight lisp in his voice. No one spoke, rather I could see them suppressing laughter. He stepped into the room, making his features clearer so I could see him better.

His hair was the first thing I noticed about his stunning features. Fiery curls sprung out from either side of his head, topped with a rather unusual looking hat. He was incredibly pale, and his beautiful brilliantly green eyes almost looked like they were going to pop out of his head, so full of life and energy. I couldn't help gawking at him awhile. He was beautiful in every sense of the word. I quickly snapped out of it as he approached the bed and tried to pull myself up again, continuously failing miserably at my every attempt.

The fits of laughter fired up again and I finally gave up. Crossing my arms, I glared at each of them. The tall man gave me an amused look.

"Whatcha think Tarrant?" the white rabbit said, snickering. "Quite the amusing one isn't she?"

The man named Tarrant turned to him, smiling.

"Yes.. yes she is", he replied. "Please go fetch her some tea, all three of you. Cakes would be lovely too if you don't mind."

They fell silent again, this time giving suspicious looks to Tarrant before taking their leave, closing the door behind them. I sighed and blew more curls out of my face. Tarrant smiled at me and leaned over the bed, extending a pale hand. I hesitated, and he laughed.

"Getting up would benefit you, would it not?" he asked, amused. I nodded.

"And by offering you my hand I'm making this available to you. Rather nice of me wouldn't you say?" He smiled at me jokingly. I managed a nervous smile before slowly taking his hand. His alabaster white fingers wrapped around my hand, pulling me up onto the bed, and helped me sit up.

"Now then, miss Alice," he spoke softly and calmly, as though he thought I was a volcano waiting to erupt. "I believe we have some things to discuss."

Before he could say anything else there was a very loud BANG downstairs, followed by an incredibly high pitched scream. I heard the sound of crashing dishes and saw Tarrant wince. Footsteps bounded up the stairs and burst in the room.

"Tarrant! It's here!" shrieked the dormouse. For a split second Tarrant looked stunned before his face lit up again. Whatever was downstairs roared loudly and more dishes crashed to the ground. Swiftly, he stood up before he seized me by my waist and slung me over his shoulder. I shrieked and pounded on his back.

"Put me down!" I cried loudly, but was quickly silenced by the white rabbit stuffing a wad of some sort in my mouth and binding my hands.

"The tree. Second one on the left. You know what I m referring to." Tarrant told the dormouse and two rabbits. They nodded quickly and motioned urgently for him to go. I heard a crash and suddenly we were flying. I tried to scream through the wad but it was so muffled I could barely hear myself. We landed with a thud on the ground and my head hit his head so hard I could have sworn my neck was going to snap. With every leap Tarrant made I saw the rather obscure looking house get further and further away. It wasn't a very comfortable ride, but we were getting away fast, which was apparently what he wanted. He bounded through what seemed to be a forest, taking great strides over the land.

The house had quickly faded out of sight and soon he slowed down before stopping all together and setting me down on my feet. He gripped my arm so as to assure I didn't run away, though I wasn't sure where I would've gone, as I wasn't at all familiar with the land. He unbound my hands & I spit out the wad before observing my surroundings.

We were standing in front of a very large tree, one that I would have ventured to say was the largest in the forest due to its width more than its height. Tarrant tapped it a few times before a pair of doors opened to reveal a stairwell appearing to go rather deep down into the ground.

"After you miss," he said, motioning down the stairs.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sitting on the rock next to her, the hooded figure looked at Iracebeth expectantly.

"Think of the possibilities," he whispered into her ear. "All of Underland could be yours again. All you have to do is give me what I want." She scowled stubbornly before a malicious smile cracked her porcelain white face.

"Yes.. yes I can see it now. My little sister will have everything stripped from under her pretty little nose. She won t know what hit her." Iracebeth laughed.

"Is that a yes?" he asked eagerly.

"Yes.." she told him hesitantly. He nodded and went to stand up, but she gripped his shoulder. "But only if you keep your end of the bargain."

"Of course your grace," he took her hand off his shoulder and kissed it gently. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

She gasped. She knew that voice, those soft lips. Her eyes widened and she whirled her head around. 'Of course it's not Stayne, silly woman.' She thought. 'But then who?' She shook it out of her mind. It shall be addressed later.

"Are you ready to leave, Iracebeth of Crims?" the hooded figure asked, bowing and motioning to the mainland. She smiled again, this time an eager smile.

"Yes, quite," she said, standing up and gliding over to him. "Are you ready, Stayne?" He stood up, his face emotionless.

"Of course, your majesty," he bowed fakely, and she rolled her eyes.

"Let's get on with it then," she ordered.

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The walls of the castle towered above the trio as they approached it. Wandering through the castle grounds, fog seemed to settle wherever they walked. The only thing that broke the eerie silence was their footsteps in the grass.

"It's like a ghost town," Stayne whispered.

"Isn't it though?" the hooded man chuckled.

The once luscious garden of the Castle of Hearts was now wilted, the grass becoming brown, the flowers sagged & drained of color. Ivy crept its way up the walls of the castle as if repossessing the land it inhabited. Iracebeth made her way to the castle doors & tugged on them, only to find they were locked.

"Locked?" she screeched. "Who dared to lock my castle up? WHO?" She pounded on the doors, somehow thinking she might be let in that way.

"Surely you didn't actually think they would leave the castle unlocked your majesty?" the hooded man laughed condescendingly at her, walking towards her. "Your sister is a smart one. But not smart enough." He pulled something shiny out of his robe & dangled it in front of her. A small gold key with a heart on the end & a ruby inside it.

She glared at him & snatched the key out of his hand. Hastily she fuddled it, getting it in the keyhole & unlocking the doors. They whined and creaked in agony as she pulled them open, begging her not to move them. Once open she laughed maliciously.

"Finally," she said softly. "I'm home."

"Just a minute, your majesty," the hooded man swept in front of her before she could go any further. "You must keep a low profile until everything is in place. They mustn't know you're here."

"Of course," Stayne droned, slithering past him & walking down the entrance hall like it was just yesterday he called this place home. For soon, he told himself, this place would be all his. He would be king of Underland.

The stranger turned his head back to Iracebeth.

"I take my leave of you now, majesty," he told her, stepping out of the way & bowing. "Until we meet again."


End file.
